


Swing My Heart Across the Line

by mirrorless



Category: Naruto
Genre: A Bit of Fluff, Alternate Universe, Angst, Assumed Unrequited Affection, Gen, Introspection, M/M, One-Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-31
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-08-12 06:00:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7923280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mirrorless/pseuds/mirrorless
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Yo! Glad to meet you, my name's Jiraiya the Great!" The boy practically shouts, leaping up and striking what he must assume is an impressive pose while jabbing an ink-smeared thumb at his chest. </p>
<p>"I'm gonna be the strongest shinobi who ever lived!"</p>
<p>Torifu hadn't mentioned... this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swing My Heart Across the Line

**Author's Note:**

> Blackkatmagic on tumblr posted the question/prompt "But what if Jiraiya was Tobirama’s son?", and I may have veered a bit off the intended course.
> 
> Title comes from the OneRepublic song "Counting Stars".

Lightning crashes again through the dense forest of Training Ground 7, reducing another large swath of the recently Mokuton-replenished wood to splinters and ash.

Kagami pants heavily, sweat dripping down his face as he absently shakes his right hand to rid it of the tingling sensation his violent jutsu had left behind.

Spent for the moment, he sinks to the ground, careful to avoid any still-smouldering patches of barren earth, crossing his legs and running his fingers through his damp hair, pulling it away from his face.

The exertion may have taken its toll on his body and chakra reserves, but he feels little improvement with regards to his mental or emotional state since before he had started gradually laying waste to the training ground hours earlier.

The recently revealed truth still whirls irrepressibly through his mind in a continuous loop.

_A son._

_The Senju has a son._

_Tobirama is a father._

There had been no public hint of this near four year old fact until the previous day, when a bowed and withered granny had arrived at the village gate late in the afternoon, hand-in-hand with a cheery toddler bearing a head of dense dandelion fluff, demanding to see the Hokage's younger brother.

The man himself, Kagami has since learned, had appeared out of nowhere and intervened before the old lady could be denied by the guard, or raise a greater fuss.

According to a reasonably credible witness, the woman had glared up at the sensor before transferring the child's hand from her own to the Senju's, then leaned again upon her walking stick with a heavy sigh and turned back through the gate away from the village without so much as a backward glance.

Tobirama had whisked the little one and himself away before any further gawking eyes could fall upon them.

It was Sarutobi Hiruzen who had, hours later and still looking slightly stunned himself, called a meeting of the man's subordinates and confirmed the tightly controlled rumor - Senju Tobirama had indeed sired the young boy who would now call Konohagakure his home.

Several silent moments had passed as they'd all made the mental adjustment.

Then Hiruzen had broken the tension with a joke about the Senju's questionable parenting skills, Danzō had complained about the additional strain on the reigning family's security detail, and Torifu had pondered which local dish to introduce the boy to first. Homura, who had been looking rather green, remained silent while Koharu had simply sighed despairingly at the lot of them.

Nothing earth-shattering about this development at all, it seemed; just another oddity in the lives of Leaf shinobi.

Kagami had played his part, laughing with Hiruzen, commiserating with Danzō, and arguing lightly with Torifu as to the current superior of Konoha's barbecue restaurants - then gone home and stared at his bedroom wall until his patrol shift had started.

_A son._

_The Senju has a son._

_Tobirama is a father._

Kagami had dazedly managed to go through the motions of his responsibilities before eschewing sleep and attempting to clear his head by unleashing himself upon the innocent training area, which has endured the Uchiha's emotional upheaval since just after the break of dawn.

The existence of this, this _Jiraiya_ boy has come as a complete shock, annihilating every careful safeguard Kagami had placed on the unresolved and freshly writhing mass of emotions associated with Senju Tobirama that he has buried, evidently far too shallowly, within himself.

The prevailingly logical part of the Uchiha had been aware, ever since these foolish feelings had years ago flickered to life in the form of an embarrassing late-adolescent crush on the older shinobi, that it was exceedingly unlikely his affections would ever be acknowledged by the sensor, much less returned, and rather highly probable that eventually Tobirama would, due to his own inclination or tiring of familial and political pressure, take a wife and father the next generation of Senju-blooded geniuses - yet another thing Kagami could never provide him.

How many times had his younger self vowed, in the lonely darkness of his bedroom, to put aside his own desires and dedicate himself to the well-being and protection of the theoretical future family of the man he adored?

Though he'd always assumed there would be the buffer of time to lessen the sting of these events; engagements could take months or even years to finalize, and quickenings and the resulting births are hardly announced on the same day.

The Uchiha had told himself that he would be able to, if this absurd, deep-rooted affection did not fade, adjust to these circumstances, to successfully demand his ridiculous heart envelop those newly dear to the Senju, so long as there was the dubious kindness of forewarning.

A laugh tinged with faint bitterness escapes Kagami's throat as he closes his eyes and flops onto his back in a cloud of ash.

Trust Tobirama to surprise - well, _everyone_.

Kagami knows the turmoil he feels regarding the situation is irrational. The secretive Senju has always kept even the most mundane aspects of his life as private as possible, much less any personal... _liaisons_.

The Uchiha momentarily directs a portion of his own abundant self pity to the Lord Hokage. According to Hiruzen, Senju Hashirama was, until yesterday, completely ignorant of the fact he'd been an uncle for several years, and the tensions between the brothers were running high.

If even the person Tobirama is supposedly closest to in all the world hadn't known, how dare _Kagami_ assume to be counted among his intimates?

Why then does the shock of the announcement and undeniable proof of the exclusion still feel so illogically painful?

Deliberately heavy footsteps crunch through the ash behind his head and Kagami slowly opens one dark eye.

Torifu stares down at him, his late afternoon shadow encompassing the shinobi sprawled on the ground, then around at the destruction before raising an eyebrow at his comrade.

"Training." The Uchiha mutters in mildly embarrassed explanation, reluctantly opening both eyes and rising to to his feet.

The Akimichi's returning grunt is more than slightly disbelieving, but thankfully he doesn't push the matter further.

"It seems Homura ate something... _questionable_." He says, which would explain the bespectacled man's obvious discomfort at the impromptu meeting the previous night.

"He was supposed to take the shift after mine tonight guarding Jiraiya," Torifu continues, and Kagami's guts lurch, knowing what's coming- "Which he can't do while holed up in the bathroom. I know it's short notice, but can you cover it?"

The Uchiha inhales deeply through his nose, the air burnt and stale from his poorly disguised outburst.

No more time. No more buffer. Adjust.

Endure.

"Yeah," He says, running a hand through his ash-flaked hair and offering a slight, cheerless smile. "I can do it - no problem."

Torifu's expression is unreadable.

"You're certain." There is something vaguely pitying and more clearly like a warning in the words.

"Yes." Kagami responds, dropping the falsely positive expression for one that is entirely serious. "I have truly vowed to watch over and protect _all_ the precious children of this village, and I will hardly shirk that sacred duty."

Torifu's own returning smile is genuine, nearly teasing, and Kagami mentally berates himself for slipping into his old tendency to make extravagant proclamations when his emotional state is other than steady.

"Good. I'll file the paperwork. See you at midnight."

The Akimichi blurs away from the barren training ground, leaving the Uchiha once more alone with his thoughts.

 

A flavorless meal, a quick wash to wipe away soot and sweat and a fitful, restless nap do little to ease the Uchiha before the moon rises and he dons the mask and the uniform required of the Hokage's family's personal guard and stealthily makes his way to the home of Senju Tobirama.

Bodyguard detail. For a child who, as far as all but perhaps one person in the village knew, had not even existed until yesterday.

Kagami takes a deep breath as he lights on the familiar roof and signals Torifu of his arrival. This will be the first time he has laid eyes on Tobirama's son, on little _Jiraiya_ , and, despite the churning in his mind and guts, he finds himself rather curious.

What _would_ the offspring of the shinobi world's most adept sensor, master of the Water Style, and inventor of numerous extraordinary jutsu be like?

At this time of night, hopefully sound asleep.

A large shinobi wearing a Boar mask lands silently on his left. "You're a bit early."

"Are you complaining?" Kagami asks with a slight tilt of his head. "If you want to enjoy the entirety of your shift, I won't deny you; I'll just take a leisurely stroll around the village through this beautiful moonlight until the midnight hour is appropriately upon us."

Torifu snorts as realistically as his coded identity might suggest. "Ass."

The Uchiha gestures as his own covered face. "Hmm... this would indicate otherwise."

A muffled, long-suffering sigh and the Akimichi gives his brief report. "No security breaches, or even attempts. He's been fed, endured the bare minimum of cleaning up, dressed in nightclothes, and encouraged to go to bed."

A warning bell sounds in the back of Kagami's mind. " _Encouraged_?" He could swear the Boar mask is smirking at him.

"Oh, yes." Torifu's tone is suspiciously light. "But it seems little Jiraiya takes after his father in that regard. Night owl, that one - refuses to leave his work."

" _Work_?" Kagami repeats stupidly. Other than the most basic of introductory training lessons and perhaps some household chores, what work could a toddler have, much less tasks that would keep them out of bed at this hour?

"Forget 'Ass', your codename should've been 'Parrot'. And you'll see." The man's voice changes to the more serious tone he'd used earlier at the training ground. "It's only harmless fun. I see no point in pressing the issue if it brings the child a bit of joy while simultaneously tiring him out."

Kagami bristles, puzzled at the unspoken preemptive rebuke.

"How long have you known me? I am no petty tyrant, and I bear no ill against this child," he hisses at the shinobi to his left. "I will protect Jiraiya with my life."

His fellow guard remains still, betraying nothing, and the Uchiha feels the need to somehow explain himself.

"When you saw me today - it was immature, yes, but - I'm not _angry_ , Boar, and I would hardly begrudge the boy the company of his father. I'm just..." Kagami trails off, face heating under his mask at his own idiotic babbling.

"Hurt." Torifu finishes with soft understanding, but Kagami flinches as if he'd brandished a blade. "It aches, that he would keep such a weighty thing secret from you."

The Uchiha huffs scornfully, his throat tight. "Not even Lord Hashirama knew. I'm not so delusional to think that _I_ merit a closer intimacy than his own brother. It's simply my own shameful foolishness."

The Akimichi says nothing for a long moment before slowly coming closer and placing a brotherly hand on Kagami's shoulder, gripping firmly.

"Jiraiya seems to be a good boy." Torifu says quietly. "I hope this watch will not be the trial you're expecting, but if so... come find me after your shift. I'll make breakfast."

The kind offer, normally made following the most soul-taxing of missions, startles a slight laugh from Kagami, though it's quickly suppressed. He is supposed to excel at silence and stealth after all.

His comrade gives his arm a final friendly squeeze before turning to leave. "Good-night then, Crow."

"Night, Boar."  
  
"He's probably covered the whole room by now." Torifu mutters to himself, intentionally just loud enough that the Uchiha can hear the ominous words, before blurring away from the rooftop and out of sight.

Kagami blinks slowly, and with some reservation, abandons his place on the roof to enter the house proper.

 

The son of Senju Tobirama sits alone in a small, lantern-lit bedroom obviously hastily adjusted to be more toddler-friendly. Gone are the ornamental weapons Kagami remembers as hanging from the walls only a week ago, along with the pair of large, wooden bookcases brimming with dense tomes.

Now a futon lies unfolded and waiting on the floor, blanket and pillow still just so, undisturbed by the child seated facing away from Kagami at the a small, low table that is the only other furniture in the room.

The Uchiha peers over the hunched shoulders and shock of snow-white hair, the meaning of Torifu's parting words becoming clear.

Jiraiya _is_ hard at work, the large piece of parchment spread out on the table before him almost entirely covered in splotches and finger-drawn squiggles, the significance of which doubtless clear only to their creator.

Several empty or near-to-it inkwells lay overturned and discarded beside the boy, the last droplets of their contents dripping slowly, almost belligerently, out onto the previously pristine floor.

Hn. Inherited work ethic perhaps, but obviously not the elder Senju's penchant for an orderly office environment.

Kagami walks with a purposefully audible impact as he approaches the boy. Startling an unknown entity, even a child this young, is a wonderful way to add to one's collection of interesting scars.

"Hey, you're ba-" The boy whirls around, beaming bright smile melting off his face when he sees Kagami behind him instead of his expected company.

Has the child really taken to Tobirama so quickly as to be so dismayed by the Senju's absence?

Or had Boar somehow made an incredibly good first impression?

The boy blinks up at his newest guard, clearly unimpressed.

"Ugh, _another_ one?"

But the mumbled disappointment is almost instantly replaced by a grin, though not quite so big or bright as the first.

"Yo! Glad to meet you, my name's Jiraiya the Great!" The boy practically shouts, leaping up and striking what he must assume is an impressive pose while jabbing an ink-smeared thumb at his chest.

"I'm gonna be the strongest shinobi who ever lived!"

Torifu hadn't mentioned... this.

If not for the mask fastened securely to his face, Kagami's jaw might well be on the floor.

_This_ child had been sired by the perpetually dour Senju Tobirama?

"Heh, speechless huh? That's fine - I don't have time to talk, I've gotta keep practicing my Fūinjutsu!"

Thoroughly dismissing the man in the mask, the boy turns his back, carelessly stepping through small black puddles as he sinks to the floor and returns to further splattering his parchment with nonsensical designs and the table with more stray droplets of ink.

Kagami flinches slightly, knowing well the homeowner's predilection for tidiness.

With a fastidiousness to match his desire for privacy, the Senju had felt no need to employ the services of a housekeeper. His subordinate dares wager that may soon change, or else Tobirama will need to apply his genius toward some breakthrough cleaning methods and - wait, _Fūinjutsu_?

Kagami blinks down at the boy, who has started to hum in time with his drawing. How many toddlers, including those born to skilled shinobi, would even know the term, much less attempt to practice the sealing art?

The Uchiha steps closer to the messy table and attempts to subtly satisfy himself that Jiraiya's designs are merely imaginative instead of possibly functional, or, even more worrying, functional and _flawed_.

While nowhere near a seal master, Kagami has spent enough time in the company of the brothers Senju and Lady Mito to assure himself after a brief but thorough perusal of the parchment that there is nothing to be concerned about - this is simply the playwork of a creative child.

Jiraiya notices his apparent interest and smiles up at him, red streaks under each bright eye pulling tight over his pale cheeks.

Kagami's thoughts turn again to the mystery of the little one's parentage.

Facial markings can signify any number things ranging from clan affiliation to personal aesthetic, he knows. Were these then, a sharp crimson slash trailing from each eye, possibly placed with the intention of honoring the boy's father?

"Cool stuff, right?" Jiraiya's proud voice tears the Uchiha from his musings. "But I've run out of room! What now?"

Kagami points at the empty futon.

Though Tobirama will likely be a while still at the unusually late and somewhat clandestine pseudo-emergency meeting the Senju elders and members of the village council have called to address _concerns_ about the arrival of his inexplicable offspring, it would be best if the child were asleep well before his return.

Dealing with politics is all but guaranteed to put the Senju in an ill mood at the best of times, even when the matter _doesn't_ directly concern him. The Uchiha knows he himself currently lacks the emotional wherewithal to indifferently endure the sensor's frayed temper, and he would hardly chance Jiraiya being inadvertently caught in the storm.

The boy's eyes go wide, and he clasps his hands together entreatingly. "Not yet, please! Just a _liiittle_ more Fūinjutsu?"

He leaps to his feet again, this time flashing a bright smile and brandishing a thumbs up. "Then, I promise I'll go to bed, no fussing - what do you say?"

Nothing at all, because he's a silent shinobi in crow mask tasked with guarding the Hokage's long-lost nephew.

Kagami does allow himself an audible sigh, at which Jiraiya whoops, clearly (and correctly) assuming he's gotten his way.

If the Uchiha elders could see him now - a wielder of the sacred Sharingan caving almost instantly to the petty whims of an illegitimate Senju brat.

The thought draws a smile from Kagami's lips, and he holds up one finger to Jiraiya, implying that he will return shortly, before stepping into the hall and heading towards a small nearby storage room.

He can feel the wards of the house thrumming subtly as he goes, tolerant of his presence after years of familiarity, doubtless recently adjusted to accept and protect the home's new resident.

Finding the object of his search in a corner of the storage room, Kagami returns to the bedroom, where he unfurls a sheet of parchment as tall as Jiraiya and nearly twice that in width, and places it on the already stained floor.

He smirks a bit beneath his mask as the boy's eyes widen and his mouth drops open. If the Uchiha will be the one to clean the inky mess anyway... why not allow the budding seal master to go all out?

Jiraiya grabs an inkpot, haphazardly drizzling it across the fresh, rug-sized canvas as he rushes to seat himself in the center and begin his work anew.

"Wow! Thanks, Birdie!"

Kagami sinks back into a shadowy corner, letting his senses spread out. Other than the home of the Hokage himself, the Uchiha doubts there is any residence in the village as secure as Senju Tobirama's, but that is no excuse for a guard trusted to, well, _guard_ to become complacent and entirely reliant on wards and traps.

And he _is_ trusted, Kagami knows. Now that the child's identity is no longer secret, the Senju has, at least for the time being, placed his faith in his loyal subordinates to look after and protect his son.

Before he can delve too deeply into that, one of Jiraiya's enthusiastic flourishes knocks over the inkpot.

"Oops."

Small, dark eyes turn to the masked man in the corner.

Kagami, already feeling the slightest pinprick of guilt for what indulging the boy must be costing his superior in supplies, merely gives an exaggerated shrug, and does not make to offer a replacement.

Jiraiya blinks at him, then down at the puddle steadily spreading across the paper, before another one of those sun-bright grins light his face and he jumps up, coating both small feet when he lands in the ink.

"Hah! Jiraiya the Great is so brilliant, he can make seals with his toes!" The boy declares, hopping on one foot to one end of the parchment, then shifting his balance to the other to return to the opposite side, leaving a trail of splotchy footprints in his wake.

Kagami is struck by the sudden mental image of Tobirama determinedly bouncing around in his nightclothes while attempting this new form of sealing, and is forced to bite the inside of his lip to keep up his appearance as an emotionless guard.

A good thing too, else he would have let out a bark of laughter just as the boy slips in the ink and lands hard on one leg.

Kagami is at his side in an instant, gingerly setting the child upright and checking for injury. A slightly bloodied knee that will almost certainly bruise seems to be the only casualty, but, out of an abundance of caution, the Uchiha activates his Sharingan to check for any abnormalities he might have missed.

Jiraiya says nothing through the ordeal, does not even whimper as he stares up at his masked caretaker until Kagami, finally satisfied there is no greater harm than he'd originally thought, pulls away to rummage through his weapons pouch for antiseptic and a bit of bandage, allowing the Sharingan to fade.

"Cool!" The boy exclaims as the Uchiha deftly begins to treat his scrape. "You can turn your eyes red, just like my Dad's!"

Well, shit.

"Can you teach me how?"

Kagami shakes his head. So much for anonymity. He can anticipate an earful from his superiors if anyone hears the boy talking about a guard that can change the color of their eyes. But it's not like the uniforms do that great a job obscuring their identities anyway. Certainly everyone will assume a fine-boned Yamanaka is the true source of the occasional surreptitious snacking noises coming from the large shinobi in the Boar mask.

At any rate, it seems like it's now time for Jiraiya to hold up his end of their bargain.

Kagami points purposefully from the ink-splattered boy to the waiting futon.

The boy's eyes follow his hand, then look back at the Uchiha and-

Gods above and below.

That _scowl_.

The heart nearly stops in Kagami's chest. How many times has that same expression been leveled on him when he tries parting the stubborn elder Senju from his work to partake in the extravagant decadence of a fresh, warm meal or a few hours' uninterrupted sleep?

Had the Uchiha any doubts about Jiraiya's paternity, there would be none now.

The little boy sighs heavily, as though he's granting his companion a great indulgence.

"All right. Deal's a deal... I guess."

The child, the floor, and the table are all cleaned of ink as efficiently as possible (the Fūinjutsu practice papers set aside for safe-keeping), then Jiraiya, with all the surliness a toddler can muster, finally flops down on his bed, wraps himself as defiantly as possible in his blanket and turns over on the futon, facing away from his guard.

Kagami dims the lantern, fading again into the room's shadows.

Several long, still moments pass in the quiet darkness, and just when the Uchiha dares hope the child has at last settled for what remains of the night, he hears the unmistakable sound of barely stifled weeping. His eyes find the bundle on the floor, and, sure enough, the boy's shoulders are trembling in time with his poorly suppressed sobs.

Kagami will never claim to be a stalwart bastion of emotional support, but to simply continue his watch without acknowledging the little one's clear distress reeks to the Uchiha of cowardice.

Footfalls once again purposefully loud, he crosses the room to kneel before the boy, prepared to summon a medic in an instant in the unlikely event the child indicates his tears are due to pain from his earlier fall.

Jiraiya blearily lifts his head from his sodden pillow and favors him with a weak, watery glare before his small face crumples completely.

"He hates me!" The boy wails as fresh tears trace down the red lines on his cheeks. "He hates me, I know he does! He asks stupid questions I don't know the answers to, and he _never_ smiles, and he's gone all the time, and he barely even looks at me when he _is_ around, and he doesn't want me here!"

Jiraiya takes in a tremulous breath as he rubs his eyes with his ink-stained little fists. "He doesn't want me..."

The final words are a soft, certain whimper, and a blade forged of searing shame and sympathy buries itself in Kagami's chest, severing any last threads of situational self-pity that entangle his heart.

This poor child.

Uprooted from whatever home he's known and deposited among a village of complete strangers, one being his long and _still_ absent father, doubtless to become a pawn of Konoha's political machinations as well as the tantalizing quarry of merciless enemy shinobi and those bearing grudges against the Senju.

And now to be so thoroughly convinced of the man who should be his greatest support's thorough disappointment and callous dismissal...

Though he has yet to see the two interact, Kagami cannot quite believe that the Senju, seemingly a cold man to those not in his trust, would purposefully close himself off from his own son, only...

Hadn't Tobirama been absent for, well - the _entirety_ of Jiraiya's life?

Such private matters aren't any of his business, Kagami knows, but this doesn't prevent something unpleasant from slithering in his guts as the disloyal question rises in his mind.

Could the heartbroken little boy on the floor before him truly be... unwanted?

Jiraiya hiccups softly before wiping his running nose on his blanket, the picture of abject misery.

Kagami sighs silently behind his mask.

All things are possible, but...

Whether the boy is the result of a tragic love affair kept secret for his own safe-keeping, the unexpected outcome of an intelligence-gathering mission gone awry, or even an unearthly foundling delivered into the Senju's care on behalf of Amaterasu herself, it now makes no difference.

Tobirama has formally claimed this child as his own. It is most likely that the current distance between the two that Jiraiya, at least, finds so painful is due to the strange newness of the bond, the seemingly massive disparity in their personalities, than any actual ill feeling.

Had Jiraiya been told anything at all in truth about the Senju?

Kagami blinks down pityingly at the boy, wondering just what kind of father the child might have made up in his clearly imaginative mind, might he have hoped to have been at last united with.

And now those expectations have clearly been dashed to jagged pieces...

It's only been two days, the Leaf shinobi reminds himself. The journey just started, the path before father and son long and unclear.

The more immediate concern is how to soothe the child enough to allow him to find some peace and comforting rest for tonight.

What can he do?

He has no tongue for the magical, perfectly reassuring words needed to rebuff the child's fears, and to remove his mask for non life-threatening reasons is grounds for, at the very least, immediate dismissal from his position - though Jiraiya is unlikely to be comforted by the unknown face of a complete stranger at any rate.

At a loss, and with the child's tears _still_ showing no sign of stopping, the Uchiha at last simply shifts forward on the balls of his feet and holds out his arms to the boy. The little one sniffles loudly, blinking at the guard in clear surprise, before that eerily familiar scowl warps his face again.

"I'm not a _baby_."

Kagami shakes his head slightly in agreement with the disdainful declaration, feeling more foolish every second his gauntleted arms remain outreached, before the boy slowly rises on unsteady legs, still loosely wrapped in his blanket.

Jiraiya's wet, dark eyes (so unlike his father's) remain suspiciously fixed on the Uchiha's arms, as if they might pull away at any second, their implied offer of comfort only a cruel joke. In the end, it's too great a temptation, and after a couple of hesitant steps, the little boy all but throws himself at his guard.

The Uchiha kneels on the wooden floor as the child clings tightly to him and splutters half-gasped grievances and assorted facial excretions onto his shoulder. Ah, well - the uniform's been saturated with worse things.

Kagami gently and steadily, if somewhat awkwardly, pats Jiraiya's thin back with his dark-gloved hand until the floodwaters start to recede and a loud yawn sounds directly in his left ear, followed by a soft, somewhat cranky complaint.

"It's too quiet."

Kagami is a bachelor shinobi, an Uchiha born, orphaned young, and brought up in the harsh, ever-present shadows of war, hunger, and sickness, so he might be forgiven for not having a comforting children's song, or soothing, well-loved nursery rhyme spring immediately to mind.

What almost automatically makes the leap from his brain to his throat is a lengthy, lurid song recounting the exploits of a world-weary shinobi and a sympathetic, adventurous, and exceptionally well-endowed barmaid.

It's one of Hiruzen's favorites. Kagami's Sarutobi comrade had gotten in the habit of humming the tune repetitiously during the most tedious portions of any given mission until even Enma had made threats against his tongue and vocal cords.

And here Kagami has finally found some practical use for the annoying earworm, though he is not so boorish as to sing the words to the damned thing aloud for tiny toddler ears to hear and impressionable young minds retain.

_That_ would spark a wonderful rumor - a supposedly trustworthy Uchiha babysitter maliciously using a bawdy ballad to corrupt an innocent Senju child.

Tōka _might_ find it amusing, but Lady Mito would rightfully seal his uncouth tongue, and Koharu -

Something cold flickers along the back of Kagami's neck, and he swallows hard, briefly interrupting his performance.

Koharu must never know of this.

Shifting into a more comfortable position on the floor, Kagami carefully detaches the boy from his shoulder, wrapping him more thoroughly in the slightly dampened blanket before cradling the bundle lightly against his chest and starting to sway from side to side, humming his way through the further escapades of the particularly libidinous fictional couple.

Jiraiya yawns again, and his eyes begin to flutter closed, but he manages a final defiant glare up at the man who holds him.

"Dumb Bird. Told you, 'm nuh uh baby..."

Almost immediately after the slightly slurred declaration trails off, the only sounds to be heard in the room are that of soft snores and low, relieved humming .

Kagami rocks on a few moments more, just to be safe.

 

As the darkness of night begins to turn to gray, the Uchiha feels the shuddering reaction of the wards as their master arrives home.

Kagami remains where is he is, and even with the forewarning his heart jumps a bit when the Senju enters the bedroom with all the silent stealth of a jungle cat.

The same heart clenches when his eyes find Tobirama's face.

The man is clearly, _terribly_ exhausted, having endured the long night's familial and political gauntlet.

Kagami can only imagine the perhaps literal hellfire he'd have raining down upon him from his clan should _he_ have an unknown child appear one day from the ether, and he is hardly a man of great renown. Tobirama, younger brother of the Hokage, is practically royalty within Konoha; to secretly produce an illegitimate, half-Senju bastard...

A sudden realization sears into the Uchiha's mind.

Jiraiya's earlier outpouring of emotional pain - Tobirama _must_ have sensed it, must have felt the weight of his son's inexplicable grief slamming into him amidst the pressure doubtless being placed upon him that very moment to justify the child's existence.

Kagami's addled heart pulses with empathy for father and son, viciously suppressing the tiny, malicious hiss within that insists Tobirama had made his own damn bed, as various unconscious oaths inscribe themselves upon his soul, vowing once more his devotion to the Senju... and his child.

Tobirama ignores the shinobi lurking within the darkest shadows of the room as he slowly approaches Jiraiya. Silently kneeling at the boy's side, his tired eyes take in the peacefully slumbering child sprawled across the futon, limbs loosely entangled in the blanket that lightly rises and falls with each soft snore.

_A son._

_The Senju has a son._

_Tobirama is a father._

Even the man himself still seems awestruck by this truth.

One long, pale finger reaches out, gently smoothing a strand of moon-white hair that clings to the child's forehead, tucking it behind Jiraiya's small ear before pulling slowly, reluctantly away from the boy's face.

Jiraiya stirs slightly in his sleep, nuzzling deeper into his pillow and clutching his blanket more tightly to himself. Something very soft blossoms across Tobirama's weary face, and the interloping Uchiha doesn't dare to breathe.

Kagami has no right to witness something so intimate, this fragile moment intended for these two alone, but cannot force his eyes away; his Sharingan unconsciously flare to life, branding the image forever into his memory.

Oh, little one. There is no _hate_ here.

Kagami will speak with the Senju tomorrow, after he - _they_ have taken their rest. He will not be so blunt as to directly repeat Jiraiya's sobbed certainties, but Tobirama _must_ be clearly made aware of the boy's fears, of the source of the suffering behind that bright ebullience, so that it can be rectified with all haste .

Granted, the Uchiha has little experience with raising anything other than a couple of lackluster houseplants, but he will do whatever he can to make the path forward smoother for the these two.

Kagami may not be as close to the Senju as he had hoped, but he is still certain that Tobirama knows _him_ , knows that if his Uchiha subordinate shows concern for the boy it will not be unctuous toadying, but honest care for Jiraiya's well-being.

Tobirama, if only by virtue of being an innate sensor, will know that truth, whatever the suspicious minds of the village busybodies might conjecture.

Gentle expression faded now, the Senju's dulled crimson eyes finally find the silent guard, an unwanted intruder lingering like a pesky insect in a corner of the room.

Tobirama blinks slowly once, then tilts his head slightly towards the window, the indication of dismissal as clear as a bellowed order.

A low flicker of shame suddenly burns in Kagami's chest. It is likely wishful thinking that the older man hasn't felt any of his subordinate's ridiculous emotional flare-ups from the past few days.

The crow-masked guard takes a deep, uncertain breath, and instead of his usual attempts to hide away his emotions from his superior, allows himself to _feel_ , to project as best he can his continued support for the Senju and the beginning spark of fondness he now holds for the sleeping child.

Kagami meets the sensor's tired eyes evenly, hoping his unspoken message of _Do not hesitate to call on me should either of you have need_ has gotten through.

Tobirama merely blinks at him again in response, and it is with some measure of tiresomely familiar embarrassment that the Uchiha folds into a quick, polite bow before swiftly launching himself through the bedroom window.

Kagami does not see the brief return of that soft expression to Tobirama's weary face as he departs, or the slight, grateful smile that accompanies it; he merely settles himself silently on an advantageous perch outside the quiet home, where he remains, a vigilant sentry, until the end of his watch.


End file.
